What I Actually USED From my Hospital Bag

You may remember I wrote a “What’s in My Hospital Bag” blog post a couple of months ago in preparation for heading to the hospital and having everything I needed.  I shared in that post how I am more of a “I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it” kind of person…so I packed A LOT.  I thought it would be interesting now that I’ve had the baby to shared what I actually USED from my hospital bag and that long list of items I shared!

What I Actually Used

Delivery Gown.  I thought about just wearing this to the hospital, but then I thought maybe it was premature to have it on already, so I didn’t.  It honestly would be pretty cute with a chambray shirt over top, which was what I had in mind.  In hindsight I could have just worn it and saved myself some time even though it wasn’t a big deal to change.  When I got to the hospital they sent me to triage to check to see if I was really in labor and should be admitted.  They made me change out of my clothes and into a hospital delivery gown at this time.  Once we got to our room, I changed into the delivery gown I brought, while I was full on in the middle of having contractions.  But I did like having my own softer gown instead of the hospital one. I got the black one and I HIGHLY recommend just getting all black everything.  Lots of fluids and other substances will get on you during this process so if it’s black you don’t have to worry about the permanent staining.

Button Down PJs.  I brought these to the hospital and I’m glad I did.  They are super soft and comfy, and the buttons help with breastfeeding but I’ll be honest, I didn’t even wear the shorts in our hospital room.  I just had my lovely Depends on and was in bed under covers most of the time so it didn’t really matter.  Again, I had them in black.  I’ve been wearing them nonstop since we got home!

Depends.  That brings me to my next thing…the Depends!  The hospital will give you these mesh underwear things with pads to wear, but the fit isn’t great and I didn’t think they were very comfortable.  Depends do fit more like regular underwear (serious granny style undies) but they have pads built into them and I also reinforced it with an extra pad.  Can’t have enough those first few days especially, just trust me.

Cardigan.  I took this one I just got because it’s soft and warm enough but not super heavy.  I just think you might get cold at the hospital so having something like a cardigan or pullover is a good idea!

Sleep masks.  I brought two of these, one for me and one for Craig and we both used them.  These are super soft too.

LED candles.  I did use these in our hospital room. We kept the lights low and used these candles to set a little cozy ambiance.

Diffuser.  We brought this so the room would smell nice and we could diffuse some essential oils.  Our doula brought clary sage and lavender and we had that going.  It was a nice touch I thought to add to the nice ambiance in the room.

Packets of Propel.  I was super thirsty during the labor and afterwards so this helped me not only replace my electrolytes (I sweated a LOT during labor) but it tastes good too.

Organic lollipops. You can’t eat once you’re at the hospital and in labor AND your mouth can get really dry, so this helped to have lollipops to suck on!  I only had one, but I really liked having it when I did!

Earth Mama Nipple Cream. Emma did a great job latching right off the bat but she did have a tongue tie, which proved a little painful for me!  I used this in the hospital and have continued to while at home.

Water bottle.  Definitely take a refillable water bottle.

Shower flip flops.  Our room felt super clean but it’s still a “public” shower so having shower flip flops is a must in my opinion!

Swaddles for baby.  I was glad we brought this one because it’s easy to use even if you don’t know how to “swaddle” a baby.  This has velcro and makes it easy to wrap them up!

Tolietries.  Shower stuff like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush.  I packed a hair dryer and curling iron and like, why?!  LOL.  I was too exhausted to even think about that.

Pillow.  Bring your own pillow!  I loved having mine from home, it was so much more comfortable than the hospital ones.  I brought an extra pillowcase too, which I’m glad about because I labored with my pillow and got the first pillowcase all sweaty, then I had a clean one for when we were all cleaned up and staying the night.

Car seat.  Just make sure you have it in the car 🙂

Phone charger.  I think Craig and I ended up sharing…I didn’t get on my phone for close to 24 hours so it wasn’t a big deal, my phone was nearly dead and I didn’t really care but it doesn’t hurt to have two.  People suggested to me to get the 10ft ones, but I didn’t feel like buying a new one just for the length…but in the room I do think that would have been better bc the plugs are in really inconvenient places and trust me you won’t want to be getting in and out of bed much!

Outfit to go home.

That’s about it!  I definitely overpacked and honestly it was kind of stressful to have two bags for me, one for Craig, and then we accumulated more during the stay with gifts and taking home all the supplies the hospital gives you.  If you can pack lighter, do it.  It’s just easier!

Hope this helps!  If you have any questions feel free to leave them below.

xo,

Bess